Anecdotes from the Sydney Dating Scene

The One I’m Glad Didn’t Get Eaten by a Shark

I had plans tonight to meet up with a new guy from Tinder, Mr M. We’d been chatting online for about a week or so, exchanged phone numbers Thursday night after he asked me if I’d like to catch up, then we’d made loose plans to catch up Sunday evening over txt.

I had intended to speak to him over the phone before committing to a date as I like to do the voice test to check if they are a psycho before meeting, but I didn’t get around to it.

We hadn’t locked in a time to meet, but he told me that he was going diving today at Manly until about 3pm. For my non-Australian readers, there has been a recent spate of shark sightings and shark attacks of late, including a horrific attack on a dolphin just a few days ago. Yes, don’t go in the water kids!!! Anyhoo, today I saw a news story about a shark sighting at Manly beach and by about 4:30pm when I hadn’t heard from him, I couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps he had been eaten by a shark on his dive. It would at least be a fair and reasonable reason for pulling out of our date….

But soon after that thought crossed my mind he sent me a txt asking what time I wanted to meet up tonight. I was feeling a little unenthused about heading out having not long woken up from an impromptu siesta in the sun on the lounge, and I realised that I had only seen one pic of this guy on his profile AND it was a black and white photo. That combined with having not put him through the phone screen yet, I was concerned this was going to be yet another disaster date. Honestly, you are not a rookie here SeriouslySingleInSyd! Get it together!!

I gave him a call to assess if I should pull the pin or not and he turned out to sound quite nice on the phone. We arranged to meet at 7pm at the Sydney Festival Village in the city. Mr M is from QLD and has only lived in Syd for 2 yrs, so I managed to sell it in as an experience he needs to have to be a true local, but really I was just desperate to go try the Messina gelato that look like savoury foods, but are actually sweet delights!

I got ready and headed into the city feeling more excitement for the gelato than meeting Mr. M. This was likely more a reflection for my deep love of gelato more so than my feelings toward Mr M though to be fair. Now I’ve mentioned before how much I despise lateness as I think it displays a selfish disregard for the other person’s time….but I miscalculated how long it would take me to walk to the festival from where I parked my car, so I was going to be a few minutes late…..which I let him know….but then it turned into 12 mins late as I kept getting caught at traffic lights. I kept Mr M updated on my progress and he taunted me with updates that Messina was about to run out of the Royale with Cheese Burger. Arrrggghhhhh running now……

When I arrived it was crazy busy and I was worried that I wouldn’t recognise him due to having seen just that one black and white pic of him and knowing that he was only average-ish height (6 foot). Walking into the festival I saw a rather awkward and unattractive guy standing near Messina and I thought to myself f*ck please don’t be him… So I called Mr M to make finding him easier and he found me immediately. I’m not too sure I would have picked him in a line up, but he was quite nice looking. Phew!

I kiss him on the cheek hello and we take a wander around the festival checking out the bar and food options before choosing a wine bar. We get some drinks and return to Messina as I want to check this ice cream burger out. I had already told him of my paranoia about them running out as I’ve heard that can happen quite early in the evening, so without seeing a sample we join the queue and I’m more excited about this burger than I ever was for Santa. I also tell him that I will cry like a little girl and perhaps even throw a tantrum if they are out of stock by the time we reach the counter. We get there and the two quirky dishes I wanted to try are still available and I am about to lose my shit in anticipation! And it was well worth the build up….

We find a table and share both dishes (after he patiently lets me take numerous pics for Instagram) which could have been a little weird seeing we’ve just met 30 mins ago, but meh, it’s ice cream and we are washing it down with booze and booze kills all germs, so it’s all good!

The night progresses with a few more drinks, some amazing chilli fries (yes dinner after dessert) and lots of great conversation. It’s a great date and when we part he is upfront in saying that he has had a great night and that he would like to see me again. I agree and give him a brief peck on the lips and head off on my way. He has sent me a txt by the time I reach the car thanking me for a fun night and saying that he is looking forward to seeing me again.

So the week opened with a date with a douche, but ended with fancy pants ice cream and a gentleman. Gotta be happy with that!